poise

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | 700+ words | Copyright

poise¹ / poiz/ • n. 1. graceful and elegant bearing in a person: poise and good deportment can be cultivated. ∎ composure and dignity of manner: at least he had a moment to think, to recover his poise. 2. archaic balance; equilibrium. • v. be or cause to be balanced or suspended: [intr.] he poised motionless on his toes | [tr.] fig. the world was poised between peace and war. ∎ (be poised) (of a person or organization) be ready to do something: teachers are poised to resume their attack on government school tests. poise² • n. Physics a unit of dynamic viscosity, such that a tangential force of one dyne per square centimeter causes a velocity change of one centimeter per second between two parallel planes separated by one centimeter in a liquid.

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"poise." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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